Biology

Caterpie emitting a terrible stench

Caterpie is a serpentine Pokémon that resembles the larvae of the Spicebush Swallowtail. It is a green caterpillar with yellow ring-shaped markings down the sides of its body. It also has large yellow eyes with black pupils. Its most notable characteristic is the bright red antenna (osmeterium) on its head, which releases a stench to repel predators. These and the large eye-shaped markings help to startle predators. Its feet are tipped with suction cups, permitting this Pokémon to scale most surfaces with minimal effort.

Caterpie will shed its skin many times before finally cocooning itself in thick silk. It can also spit this silk in order to entangle foes as seen in Ash Catches a Pokémon. It has a voracious appetite that causes it to eat leaves larger than itself. It primarily feeds on vegetation, such as tree leaves. According to Pokémon Adventures, its favorite food is the Vermilion flower. Caterpie lives in forests.

Caterpie made its main appearance in the Yellow chapter in As Gastly as Before. With the help of her fishing rod and Red's Pika, Yellow saved a Caterpie from its tree, which was targeted by a fire attack. Caterpie then followed Yellow to where she and Blue were training, next to the Rock Tunnel. It took Yellow a whole day to properly catch this Caterpie with a Poké Ball, but once she prevailed, Yellow welcomed Caterpie to her team and called it "Kitty". It then became one of Yellow's most useful Pokémon, whose string was commonly used to make floaters. However, in the battle against Lance, Yellow did not have a Pokédex, which she needed to stop her Pokémon from evolving, and so Kitty evolved into Metapod and then into Butterfree right afterwards.

In the Pokémon Pocket Monsters manga

In the TCG

Game data

NPC appearances

Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Caterpie is rescued in the first mission of the game. It is too young to be of any help to the rescue team but remains a strong fan throughout the game, even in its darkest hour.